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Thursday, August 14, 2008

Ben's Red Swings

"Hi Joe,

I got the nerve to take my Grandson to the city park and to "Ben's red swings"....hoping things had improved !!!!! BIG MISTAKE!!!The portable pottys right outside the entrance to the swings smelled so bad and obviously had not be cleaned recently. Inside the play area was just as bad....yes people need to pick up their own trash,but that is why you have city workers to do the rest! there was bottles,cans,fast food wrappers everywhere. The cigarette butts at the swing entrance was unexcusable! What is wrong with people?

This is the once beautiful "misting area" for the kids at the swings...now it is a leaking,slimey mess. Nice,huh?"

Editor's Note: This message was sent into Salisbury News by a loyal reader.

That's just awful! I loved to take my kids to Ben's. It has great equipment and fun for all ages. Why do the "ignorant @$$holes" in the 'bury have to mess it up for the kids. Stopping being a sh!thead and pick up after yourself!!! Can we have nothing nice anymore?!

Send the prisoners down there to clean that mess up and make it a routine for them. Get them off their hindparts and out to work at 6:00am like the rest of us. They could have that place cleaned up by 8:30 at the latest and moved on to another area that needs to be cleaned up.

Yes,in fact I DID PICK UP TRASH,thank you very much.And while doing this,I got even hotter...my little grandson stopped playing and started helping me.I WILL NEVER TAKE HIM ANY WHERE NEAR THE PARK/ZOO OR SWINGS.I'm sick of explaining why some people are just pigs.I'll shelter him just as long as I possibly can.

It is ridiculous how we pay such high taxes in the city and there is nothing to show for it. You have to weed the poorly maintained sidewalks but the city does nothing to repair the broken slabs that are everywhere. The side street are falling apart. The town has become a slum and my family including visitors want to leave when they are here. We all would rather spend out time outside of Salisbury. The zoo could use a good cleaning as well. We need more parks and places to take families and Salisbury really lacks. What they do have are not clean I refuse to take my kids there because how disgusting it has become.

between the zoo and the ben's swings, we see 2 of the biggest wastes of money, be it donated or taxpayers, spent in this city. that swing set money could've been spent correctly by helping build a wing to a pediatric center on the hospital, or something like that. those swings are an eyesore, joke, and waste of money.

Do you provincial people ever leave the shore? Everywhere I travel, I never see the amount of garbage and trash on the ground, along roadways, etc. as I see on the lower Eastern Shore, but specifically Salisbury. Salisbury is filthy, rundown and trashy. And it reflects poorly on the people who live here. When someone actually tries to do something for the benefit of the community, others are there to tear it apart, trash it, spray graffiti on it, or whatever. It's disgraceful, disrespectful and ignorant. Welcome to Salisbury!

"that swing set money could've been spent correctly by helping build a wing to a pediatric center on the hospital, or something like that. those swings are an eyesore, joke, and waste of money."

That money was raised by the parents, fammily, and frinds of a young boy "Ben" with cancer. The City didn't pay for any of it other than let them us the land. YOu think that is a waste of money. Honoring the memory of a falling child who wanted nothing more than for other children to have fun and enjoy what he couldn't. Shame on you.And to all the other out there. Shame on you for expecting to city to clean up after you. It is your responsibility to take care of the earth, your town. Keep it clean. Pick some trash up, teach you kids to pick it up, tell the person who just throw that wrapper on the ground that is wrong and they should pick it up. Being part of the problem and then expecting the government to pick up after you you is ignorant. OK, that is all I can stand to write now.

The last time I took my daughter there I was disgusted-soiled diapers balled up and tossed in the sandbox,fast food wrappers all over and adults smoking INSIDE around the kids.Did I mention the many kids that were unsupervised?Its bad enough the city does not maintain it but at the same time if people had good sense they would treat the park with more respect.What lesson do they teach their kids when they toss a sh*tty diaper into where kids are to play?Do they live like that at home?Furthermore,the last time I visited,two teen girls on the swings told me that they never go there alone anymore because of older guys that like to hang out there and "stalk" underage girls who are alone,bugging them and following them around.I could say wheres the security but its obvious if home invasions are occuring in the mayors own hood,theres little to be done at the park.

The bottom line is, you will always have a handful of people that think the world owes them a living and simply don't give a shit.Bens Red Swing program was an excellant example of people helping people, but they placed it in the city of Salisbury and like the zoo got neglected.

12:19 is (unfortunately) correct. I am also a displaced Salisbury resident who still cares because family members live there. I visit weekly/couple/few times per month. You DON'T see this malaise in other cities around the state/nation-nor did you see it in Salisbury a decade or so ago. It is just disenchanting that some of us from further away fight so hard for you to turn things around, but some of you only bitch and moan anonymously when someone suggests you check you voter registration; or consider being a proactive consumer of democracy. Maybe I am having a bad day (I am usually an optimist with a sense of humor), but this just does not sound like a population prepared for national and local elections during the next several months. Mucho discouraging!

Every time we go, I make a point for my kids to go look at Ben's little memorial and my boy asks me if he is in heaven now. I was one of the volunteers there...I cut out the little arches in the main tower... :-) So it makes me angry to see kids and adults screwing this place up. I wish they would put some sort of GATE up also on the west side, but that's another story.

You folks are preaching to the choir because you are all concerned about making this a better place and are not the people who junking up this little treasure.

To the one who thinks everyone here is provincial, I'm a "come here" and have traveled a lot. These people here understand that this is not acceptable.

Write the mayor and council (all of them, we know only 2 will listen or care, but you still have to let all of them know). Here's the email addresses:

sbymayor@ci.salisbury.md.usALLCityCouncilMembers@ci.salisbury.md.us

Tell them your concerns. While this blog is a wonderful thing, people do need to take this to the government or they will think no one cares. Shanie Shields and Gary Comegys said it enough times (yes, I watch PAC14 a lot!)

I don't go to Ben's Red Swings or the Zoo a lot, but I see so much of what you talk about elsewhere in the city. Rise up, Salisbury!

1:13-Thank you for reminding everyone of what Ben's Red Swings was created for, even if people didn't want to hear it.

For what it's worth, we went there two weeks ago- it was a beautiful day, and though the play area wasn't crowded, there were lots of families there. I didn't see any trash lying around, and I don't remember many unsupervised kids- I did see parents playing with their children- in the sandbox, on the swings, on the slides. Very few were just sitting there watching. We had a lot of fun, and our little one didn't want to leave.

We don't play in the sandbox- it's not covered at night, so we're not playing in anything that might inspire cats to pee in it. Yuck.

My pet peeve is with the play area in the mall. The sign clearly says it is designated for toddlers, yet people take their kids, age 5 or so and up, and then leave them to play there while they go to the shops nearby. And, then those kids proceed to act in a way that shows total disregard for the younger kids. I'd say the toddler phase is over by 3, and I really think that's pushing it.

Just a word of caution when picking up trash ANYWHERE--be sure you have gloves, preferable a face mask, and be extremely careful. You never know when some druggie has left a needle in the trash, or there may be condoms as well as the poop diapers. I am part of a special beach cleanup crew where I live, and we are shocked by what we find on the beach.

1:13 You are accurate except you failed to mention the reason it is called "Ben's Red Swings" is because during Ben's last days with us he aid he would be okay because he dreamed that he was in heaven swinging on a red swing. Chris (his father), family members, friends and many dedicated caring people with donations did all the work for this project. It is sad that people can not clean up after themselves; it makes you wonder if they live like that at their houses. Chris and his family took care of everything here when they lived here. It's time for people to grow up and clean up after themselves; have a little respect.